4 wk. ago • 78%

Do you think The Sims will ever implement more unfortunate/disappointing aspects of real life into the game?

In The Sims you never really have to worry about taking a step back in life like downsizing to a smaller apartment or moving back in with your parents. I was wondering if you think EA will ever try to break away from this?

Things like a lack of career advancement, job uncertainty, and pay not scaling with rent hikes could be a neat twist. I feel like a lot of people use The Sims for a bit of escapism and things have gotten significantly more cartoony with The Sims 4 so I don't really see it happening.

I could see them adding mental disorders or homelessness but I feel like they'd whitewash a lot of it. In the case of homelessness for example I could see them depicting it like camping or off the grid living.

Maybe one of the Sims rivals that's being developed will tackle this? Who knows?

Some of this may have been implement to various degrees. I still mostly play The Sims 3. I've tried getting into 4 over the years but it's never stuck for me and it's been a while since my last attempt.

16 comments

People don't play the sims to feel bad about life.

While some things definitely could use more depth, they also definitely don't need to add the anxiety of real life.

Seriously, how can something where "rent hikes" are mentioned be fun, unless your hobby is to be a fan of finance or something?

It feels like those people who want to put racism and rape in their TTRPG for "realism". It's a game, it doesn't have to contain realistic things, and unless it's a horror game it shouldn't try to mimic the shitty parts of reality.

15
- Yeah, this feels a little like privilege wanting to roll play marginalisation, for funsies.. 🙄
  
  I've been homeless, I am mentally an otherwise ill, I already know I'm never going to own a home to make my own or have any financial security, why on earth would I, or anyone else who has or is living this shit want to "play" at how distressing life already is for so many of us? And much more confusing, why would someone who hasn't lived this shit, want to "play" at it? Really odd take..
  
  9
  
  I'm not trying to trivialize those things. I'm saying it could be interesting to have the option for something more real with how over the top a lot of the Sims has become.
  
  I mentioned things getting whitewashed because it's not something I'd want played off as nothing or purely positive. I could see EA being tasteless and depicting homelessness as something like another eco living DLC.
  
  2
- It would be for an added challenge. I feel like most Sims players experience some kind of plateau after a while of playing with the same family because there's not much left for challenges. Especially if you don't enjoy the supernatural or adventure DLCs.
  
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  Unfortunately, that's not the style of (at least the mainline) Sims. It's not meant to be a challenge.
  
  I'm fairly certain there are mods available for this sort of thing if you want it, but EA wants the games to be easy to pick up and appeal to the widest possible market.
  
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I play these types of games to live vicariously through my characters, I don't wanna experience the shittiness of real life in them.

14
- Fair enough that's why I mentioned the escapism aspect
  
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Why not just live life instead of playing The Sims then?

6
- It's still a tangent from reality. Playing out what it might be like to start a family or have a different job is fun.
  
  I prefer the average Joe Shmoe jobs in the games over things like Ghost Hunter and Mad Scientist
  
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It's a game about living the American white suburb dream. The type of gameplay you are suggesting would make it a completely different game; something closer to a survival manager or something.

4
- Do you think it would be possible to have both? I feel like the way the two contrast could fit the over the top and zany world of The Sims.
  
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